Earl’s Saw Shop

I have used Earl’s for the past 20 years for mower, saw and trimmer repairs and parts.
Occaisionally they have been flakey, but NOT yesterday.
My Toro mower quit working. It was pretty clearly the coil, or the kill switch system.
Kerry helped me get the correct engine info, so that he could determine if Earls carried the coil. They had it!
He then helped me rule out the kill switch as the defective part.
The mower is running today.
Great service and product assistance!
Thanks!
Rog

I’m done with Earl’s. I’ve done a lot of business with them over the last 15+ years, both for tools we’ve bought from them directly (Stihl weedwacker, Stihl leafblower) as well as having other items both serviced and repaired there (Honda mower, Husky chainsaw).
A couple of years ago after having them do the work on my chainsaw, I encountered a problem where the entire case melted, leaking out the bar oil — something with the muffler in the wrong place or re-​assembled incorrectly.
They contend it had nothing to do with them, and to be fair I have no evidence to back it up other than that they are the *only place* I’ve ever had the saw serviced at, and they have done ALL the services for it. I have never tampered with the saw other than gas and bar oil so it’s odd how the case or muffler could have been reassembled incorrectly by anyone OTHER than them, but there ya go. They refuse to acknowledge their responsibility.
So as sort of a frustrated-​customer compromise, they offered me a $ 50 credit towards a new tool and for the credit they «put it in their system».
Today I went in to use the credit to get a new saw. The guy helping me «reluctantly» (I had to specifically ask if he would show me saws as he didn’t budge from the counter when I said I was in the market for a new one) showed me the new saws and «reluctantly» (did not want to do it) looked up my account for this info on my «credit». He saw the notes related to my service issues on the saw but said without something written he couldn’t help me with this $ 50 «credit». I told him I didn’t receive anything and just got this blank stare back and a «sorry».
So there ya go. Multiple purchases. Multiple service visits. Going on 2 decades. A failure of one of my tools and a dispute as to who was the cause. A agreed-​upon resolution in the form of a credit towards a new tool. A reluctance/​refusal to honor said credit when the time came to use it.
It’s a shame because they’re my hometown dealer. But they exhibit «0» interest in a business relationship with me. Adiós.

Awful awful experience. I would not recommend going here.
I brought my chainsaw in for sharpening, to be tuned up for altitude and looked at to make sure it was running correctly. It took so long I eventually called to find out what happened only to discover they had sharpened it but couldn’t turn it on to tune it because there wasn’t gas. I’ve only used premixed gas with no ethanol so I was explicit that they only use the same, which they said they would.
I got the saw back, made two cuts and it was as dull as before. Additionally, an issue I’d had previously and mentioned to them was worse. I dropped off the saw again, told them what was wrong again, and was told again they would call.
No call.
I rang to find out what was wrong and got a super aggressive woman on the phone who accused me of using bad gasoline and something about trying to pull one over on them. Initially I assumed that she was talking about a different saw and it was just a misunderstanding but she persisted to be belligerent and to accuse me of trying to trick them. At one point she threatened to take me to court for the way I was talking to her (no idea what that was about), then she said I was messing with the wrong woman and I should come down and confront her in person.
Unbelievably bizarre and astonishingly offensive.
After hanging up on me twice I finally was able to talk to someone who was actually stable and able to listen. The guy apologized for the employee’s weird aggressive behavior and said that what she had done was totally inappropriate, which it was.
So I’m going to get this last work done, pick up my saw and never ever ever go back. Unfortunately, in reading other reviews this kind of service seems like it’s par for the course.

Took my weed trimmer to be repaired, turned out it was full of old fuel. In determining this Earl’s took apart all the fuel lines. Now my weed trimmer no longer holds fuel, it leaked all over. Took it back to them, they «fixed» it so that my weed trimmer still no longer holds fuel. DO NOT GO HERE! Terrible service, and all around Hacks. I will not be returning. John M. Is full of shit, my weed trimmer leaks no matter the temperature. Expanding fuel? Utter bullshit.

Sales guy was very knowledgeable and didn’t try to oversell me something I didn’t need. Showed me how to use the chainsaw and then answered a couple of reminder questions on the phone a month later. Great product, cut through pine & Russian olive with no problem.

So far so good. Had four Husky chains sharpened. I knew because of Unilocal to expect a long wait. They promised two weeks and sure enough called me one day before the due date and the chains were ready. They were sharpens well. No complaints here.

Quality products. Friendly & knowledgeable service.

This was my first time using Earl’s.
Called them on Monday to ask about getting a chainsaw blade sharpened. Dropped it off Tuesday morning, picked it up Wednesday afternoon and it cuts great.
$ 11.95

Broken mower — unhelpful staff — insulting management
I just paid $ 500 for Earl’s to fix my riding mower. 30 seconds after starting it up, it broke down again. They claim the problem was unrelated and would take no responsibility.
Even considering the possibility that there were two separate problems, the fact remains that they said the mower was ready to go and delivered it back to my house. That delivery cost $ 80, and the mower obviously wasn’t ready to go. A reasonable shop would have, at a minimum, picked the mower back up at no additional cost. At a bare, bare minimum, they would have sold me the part I needed without a mark up. Did they do either? Nope, they just told me they couldn’t have been at fault, and that it must have just been a coincidence that the mower broke right after they did their work.

When «customer service» is defined as «we just don’t care,» you know there’s problems ahead.
The attitude at Earl’s, (and I mean «attitude») is «If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.» Well, easy for them to say because there is nowhere else in Boulder.
Poor service, expensive prices and that dreadful attitude barely rate this joint 2 stars. If you can, go to Lafayette or Longmont; the time and gas are surely worth the cost of frustration you’ll have dealing with these hillbillies.
When it comes to Earl’s– I suggest you stay away!

Do not get your chains sharpened here. Us forestry professionals would never dare. They overheat the teeth as the possibly low paid kids grind them way too fast taking the temper out of the steel, therefore causing the chain to last only half as long as it would otherwise.
Then, repairs take forever. If you ask and you are at all frustrated after waiting for a month (and being told that it would be a couple of weeks) they will have an attitude. They think because they are the only true chain saw and lawn equipment repair place in a town of academics that they can just ignore basic customer service. Well, I will never take my business here again, nor will any of my associates or friends in the local forestry industry.
I also have a little story to tell. One time I go there to check on the status of some saws as I was in the area. I get out of my truck and hear a guy yell «hey, that’s mine!». He was there to check on his lawnmower and they were literally renting out his lawnmower to another guy, it was hilarious. If it wouldn’t be so unethical.

I took my reel mower in to Earl’s Saw Shop to have the blades sharpened and greased, based on a recommendation from McGuckin Hardware. They seem to have done a good job of the actual sharpening for a reasonable price ($ 50).
The customer service was average, with a long wait to drop off my mower as other customers were served on a Saturday. I was told that it would be done in a week. I called after that week, and was told it was done.
Then, when I showed up to pick up the mower (a day or two later), the clerk at the register was a bit huffy and said I should have waited until they called me, and that my mower might not be ready.
Luckily it was.
All in all an average experience.

I don’t doubt these guys are good and perhaps expert at what they do. Perhaps they cater more toward the landscaping professionals.
*BUT* from an individual consumers perspective — my experience has been T*E*R*R*I*B*L*E! I will be voting with my feet on this one taking my business elsewhere in the future.
They always get good reviews on being experts, small, local, etc. After three times of taking my lawnmowers and trimmers there I won’t be returning.
My biggest gripe is how long it takes. Right now we are going on 3 weeks for a trimmer. I called today for an update (of course I had to make the call — they weren’t at all proactive in keeping me updated). I was told they hadn’t even looked at it yet. The original estimate was for 2-​weeks — which seemed too long for me from the start.
Second is the price. I had to put down a $ 40 deposit for them to even look at it (against a $ 125 trimmer). Sometimes it seems like they have an angle of trying to sell you something new — because it isn’t worth putting the $ 40 dollars towards repair. Invest it in something new. Feels like bait and switch to me.
Finally, it’s a little too loosely run and organized for me. Every time I go in or call on the phone. It takes multiple times to find my info/​stuff. «What’s your name again?», «What did you bring in?», «What wrong with it again?», «Can you hold please?», «When did you say you brought it in?» — «Oh yeah — here it is — not ready yet — call back in a couple of weeks…». Listen, pay attention to the details, a little customer service would go a long way.
Sorry — for being so harsh — but it’s 3 times now… and I can only share my experience. My $ 0.02.